Waltteri Immonen (born April 3, 1967 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a retired professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

and former coach of

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

team

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...

Playing career

Immonen started his playing career in

Helsingin Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...

, an ice hockey team from

. Immonen played his first full season for Jokerit during the 1988–89 1. division league of ice hockey in Finland. Immonen led the defense of Jokerit and played alongside players like

Teemu Selänne Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipe ...

Ari Sulander Ari Juhani Sulander (born 6 January 1969), nicknamed Sulo, is a retired Swiss-Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. Career in Finland Sulander played nine seasons for Jokerit Helsinki in Finland's SM-liiga, winning four league champions ...

Mika Strömberg Mika Juhani Strömberg (born February 28, 1970 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques as their eleventh-round pick, #211 overall, in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. After a ten-yea ...

. During the

1994–95 NHL lockout The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining and ...

, he was joined by

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

-star

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named one ...

and, for the second time,

. Immonen was appointed as the captain of Jokerit in the beginning of

1991–92 SM-liiga season The 1991–92 SM-liiga season was the 17th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 12 teams participated in the league, and Jokerit Helsinki won the championship. Standings Playoffs Quarterfinals * Lukko - Ässät 0:2 (1: ...

by then head coach

Boris Majorov Boris Aleksandrovich Mayorov (born February 11, 1938, in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a retired ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC Spartak Moscow. He was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame ...

. Immonen won the SM-liiga 4 times as the captain of Jokerit. He also won the 1995 European Cup with Jokerit. Immonen retired after

1998–99 SM-liiga season The 1998–99 SM-liiga season was the 24th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 12 teams participated in the league, and TPS Turku won the championship. Standings Playoffs Quarterfinals * TPS - JYP 3:0 (8:0, 3:2, 5:1 ...

. Immonen's playing number 24 is currently retired by Jokerit in honour of his services as the longtime captain of the team.

Career statistics

Coaching career

After retiring, Immonen became the team manager of Jokerit and, after

Hannu Jortikka Hannu Jortikka (born 16 December 1956) is a Finnish former ice hockey player and current coach.http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=3167 Hannu Jortikka on Eliteprospects.com Jortikka spent most of his playing career in TPS. He was a ...

left, Immonen was named the new head coach of Jokerit. After a poor start, Immonen was fired from his position but remained in the club in the role of coach. Immonen was part of the Jokerit coaching staff until 2008, when he followed the departing

Doug Shedden Douglas Arthur Shedden (born April 29, 1961) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the National Hockey League between 1981 and 1991. After his playing career he became a coach, and worked in the minor leagues for several ...

to Nationalliga A team

EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. It is a member of the National League and plays its home games at the Bossard Arena. History EV Zug won its first championship in the 1997–98 season, and the second one in t ...

where he started out as an assistant coach to Shedden.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Immonen, Waltteri 1967 births Living people Finnish ice hockey defencemen Jokerit players Ice hockey people from Helsinki Ice hockey players with retired numbers